Foot arch support



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FOOT ARCH SUPPORT Filed Sept. 1, 1954 Patented May 5, 1936 FOOT ARCHSUPPORT Walter Wisbrun, Dusseldorf, Germany Application September 1,1934, Serial No. 742,479

In'Switzerland July 30, 1934 3Claims. (01. 36-71) The present inventionrelates to' afoot arch support.

Hitherto, foot arch supports have been so formed that they are adaptedto the skeleton of the foot; The. lower side of the soft parts of thefoot is, however, shaped very'differently from the underside of theskeleton arch. e

The skeleton arch, together with the muscles of the sole of the'footwhich are bridged over thereby, is closed over flatly underneath, inparticular by the centre parts of the ten'dinous sheet of the sole ofthe foot. "Between the tendinous sheet of the sole of the foot and theskin is disposed the fat sandal consisting of two thick cushions,namely, the heel cushion and the forefoot cushion which are themselvesconnected by a thin layer of fat. The curvature of the sole of the footis therefore only indirectly dependent upon the shape of the skeleton ofthe foot, whereas it represents a direct portrayal of the fat sandal.While. the heel cushion encloses the lower surface of the heel bone inthe form of a cap, the fore-foot cushion lies below and behind the headsof the second, third and fourth metatarsal bones,

so that the second and third of these heads are cushioned most strongly,the fourth less and the first and fifth are not cushioned at all exceptby an ordinary thin layer of fat beneath the skin. The arch of the rowof metatarsal capitula, which 30 is open at the back, is so filled up bythe forefoot cushion, that a closing in a straight line of the foot archtakes place in the form of a straight flute or channel which is formedat the top by the front part of the tendinous sheet of the sole of thefoot and at the front by the rear surface of the fore-foot cushion. Therearward boundary of the fore-foot cushion is formed by a straight linewhich connects two points lying closely behind the first and fifthmetatarsal capitula.

40 Previous foot arch supports adapted to the lower side of the skeletonabutted very unevenly on the lower surface of the foot and theunavoidable result was a painful pressure on the soft parts of the solewhich was injurious to the 45 muscles. The improved support overcomesthese disadvantages by being adapted to the thick layer of the softparts with which the skeleton is cushioned and firmly combined. The evenpressure acting uniformly upon the underside of the sole of the foot istransmitted by the soft parts to the skeleton and acts thereon in thesense of a foundation and a uniform support. The uniform distribution ofthe bottom pressure on the whole surface of the foot has, furthermore,as a result, a corresponding relief of the front and back parts of thefoot, which is of great importance to obviate the pain caused byso-called splay foot and in the heels. i a Y According to the invention,the improved'foot arch support consists, in pursuance of the above, of afiat central surface which isinchneddownwardly towards the front andruns horizontally in cross-section, having its position and extentdetermined by the position of the tendinous sheet of the sole of thefoot orxby the, highest point of the'curvature of the foot situated infront of the heel fat cushion and the endof the first and fifthmetatarsal bones behind the joint; capitula or sesamoid bones. This flatmiddle surfacemerges, at the forward end, into a smaller surface whichis bent downwards about a straight line from the. more central surfacebehind the fore-foot fat cushion and terminates also in a straight line,so that it applies itself to the channel formed by the fore-foot fatcushion, behind the joint capitula, and, at the rear end, in a surfacebent downwardly in the transverse direction of the foot corresponding tothe projection of the heel fat cushion, which surface serves as asupport for the heel cushion.

In this way, the foot is uniformly supported over its whole extentcorresponding to its anatomical structure and front foot or so-calledsplay foot pains as also heel pains are overcome in a reliable manner.

The essentials of the invention are not departed from if a smallelevation be disposed on the inner side of the flat central surface inorder to fill up the small hollow space on the inside of the footcurvature. This would, however, only make the otherwise simple.construction more diflicult and expensive, without presenting anyadvantage to the wearer. It would on the contrary, in many cases, merelyintroduce the risk of the foot being forced outwardly too strongly. Withthe plane straight support from below, without any elevation, however,the advantage is presented that treading on one side of the footgear,whether towards the inside as well as towards the outside, is prevented.

A constructional example of the improved foot arch support is shown inthe accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a longitudinal section ofthe foot arch support in place beneath a foot,

Fig. 2 is an under-plan view of the foot with the foot arch support,

Fig. 3 is a section on the line AB of Fig. 1, and

Fig. 4 is a section on the line CD of Fig. 1.

The foot arch support consists of the fiat central plate I. This isadapted to the strong central part of the tendinous sheet 2 of the soleof thefoot and is bordered at the forward end by a second smallersurface 3 bent down about a straight line and terminating in a linerunning, parallel to this, which surface 3 bears on the fat cushion 4 ofthe forepart of the foot behind the joint capitula 5. The central plateI terminates at the rear end at the apex line EE which is directedtransversely to the longitudinal axis of the foot and corresponds to thefront termination of the fat cushion 6 of the heel. At this apex lineE-E, the central plate merges into a downwardly bent rear surface 1which serves as a support for the front rising part of the heel cushion6.

This form of construction of the foot arch support is suitable both forthe production of loose inserts and for building into orthopaedic boots.

I claim: L

1'. Afoot arch support comprising a metal plate having three surfacesdisposed angularly with respect to each other, namely, a centraltransversely horizontal plane surface inclined downwardly from the reartowards the front and determined in position and extent by the highestpoint of the curvature of the foot, which is located in front of theheel, and the end of the first and fifth metatarsal bones close behindthe joint capitula or sesamoid bones, a front surface bent downwardlyabout a straight line at the forward end of the central surface andterminating in a line running parallel thereto, so that it appliesitself to the channel of the fat cushion at the forepart of the footbehind the joint capitula, and a rear surface bent downwardly about thehorizontal line at the anterior end of the fatty cushion of the heel toserve as a support for the anterior ascending part of said cushion ofthe heel.

2. A foot support formed by a plate having only three foot supporting.surfaces, the middle part of said plate being flat in crosswise andlongitudinal directions, the end portions of the plate forming smallflat surfaces inclined downwardly;

3. A foot arch support comprising a metal plate having three surfacesdisposed angularly with respect to each other, namely, a centraltransversely horizontal plane surface inclined downwardly from the reartowards the front and determined in position and extent by the highestpoint of the curvature of the foot, which is located in front of theheel, and the end of the first and fifth metatarsal bones close behindthe joint capitula or sesamoid bones, a front surface bent downwardlyabout a straight line at the forward end of the central surface andterminating in a line running parallel thereto, so that it appliesitself to the channel of the fat cushion at the forepart of the footbehind the joint capitula, and a rear surface bent downwardly about thehorizontal line at the anterior end of the fatty cushion of the heel inorder to serve as support for the anterior ascending part of saidcushion of the heel, said plate tapering in width from front to rearwith the widest part forward.

WALTER WISBRUN.

